Musings from a Kentucky born, Nashville native.

Eagle Rare Barrel Pick

I’ve been a longtime fan of Eagle Rare. It was one of the first bourbons that I really just loved myself. While hubs and I have been on this journey together, we do each have our own tastes and each have a few favorites that we enjoy more individually.

Eagle Rare is one of those bourbons that has a nice level of bite to it. The burn is important to me and something that some people mistake for a blind love of a higher proof. This is definitely not the case. To me, the perfect level of bite is like a warm blanket moving slowly from the front of mouth down the chest hitting you in the feels. Done right, it’s a great feeling. It’s a big part of what I love about whiskey. You don’t have to drink to get drunk or drink much to get a bit of a healing feeling to your soul. In fact, it’s one of those less is more kind of things, which I love.

Recently, one of our favorite local liquor stores bought a barrel of Eagle Rare and let BT Master Distiller Harlan Wheatley do the picking. The end result was phenomenal! I’d not bought much Eagle Rare in awhile and honestly had been a little underwhelmed the last time I bought a bottle, until this. When I saw a barrel pick, I couldn’t resist and have since gone back for several more.

Eagle Rare is a 10 year bourbon, but the oak taste is not overpowering or really even as present as the distinct taste of butterscotch or toffee and honey. BT lists notes of orange peel which definitely contribute to the perfect level of bite. However, this particular barrel pick is very similar to a Single Barrel Taylor from this past year’s release. The flavors are married perfectly for a full body that is complex but just solidly tasty. There’s a bit of spice, leather, and just enough oak to give you that fantastic bourbon flavor.